Record of Officials' Thoughts (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Pei Chuanyong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Among the vast historical documents in our country, there is a category of works that do not fall under the classics or the "Four Divisions" and are particularly lingering in the hearts of modern people. Initially, we condemned them as feudal dross and suppressed them, then cautiously collected and studied them, and now they are made public and have been hyped to an extreme, being called "treasures," "lost arts," "secrets," "official scriptures," and "strategies," as if discovering a new continent. This is a lost art outside of traditional Confucianism in China—official precepts. Official precepts, as the name suggests, are records of advice for officials or the principles of being an official. Basically, they are admonitions and guidance written by officials or scholars for officials, serving as moral norms used by the ancient ruling class for self-discipline and administration. However, the original meaning of official precepts was not intended for ordinary officials. According to records, the term "official precepts" first appeared in the Zuo Zhuan (Commentary of Zuo) in the fourth year of Duke Xiang of the Jin Dynasty, with the phrase "(Emperor Jia) ordered the officials to admonish the king's faults." The Western Jin scholar Du Yu annotated: "Let the officials each compose precepts to admonish the king's faults." Kong Yingda explained: "During Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, Yang Xiong loved the Yu Zhen (Admonitions of Yu) and thus created the Twelve States Twenty-Five Officials Zhen based on it. Later, nine chapters were lost. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cui Zhen, his son Cui Ai, and his grandson Cui Shi collectively filled in the gaps. Later, Liu Yi of Lin Yi County and Hu Guang of the Grand Tutor each added chapters, totaling forty-eight. Hu Guang then compiled and titled them as Official Precepts, all based on the Yu Zhen."
From a literal interpretation, the term "zhen" originally referred to a needle-like instrument used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat illnesses. The Wenxin Daoyi (The Way of the Mind and the Heart) explains: "'Zhen' refers to attacking illnesses and preventing troubles, likened to medicinal herbs." Therefore, the original meaning of official precepts was the advice officials gave to the monarch. Later on, it became a warning for ordinary officials. The reason it is called "zhen" is because it is like attacking and preventing illnesses.